The Phantom of the Seven Seas
by A Single Haunting Melody
Summary: Phantom and Little Mermaid crossover, but sort of with roles switched: Erik is a merman, and Ariel is a human. She wants to be part of his world. Will this be possible, and what will the price be? T for possible future chapters.
1. Music of the Night

**A/N: Here's the disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera or The Little Mermaid. I'm just messin' with the characters. Especially that sexy Phantom guy...**

* * *

Ariel sat close to the water's edge on the wet sand of the beach. Her red hair was loose, spilling over her shoulders and her knees as she hugged them close to her chest.

She was waiting to hear a song- but not just any song, sung by just anyone. Ariel was waiting for the thoroughly seductive voice of a merman, the Phantom of the Seven Seas, to echo over the waves.

A time or two, she'd even caught a glimpse of him. He'd been keeping his distance, of course, but with her sharp eyes, Ariel had seen that he had dark hair, a mask (possibly carved from shell), and a deep blue tail. Hopefully she'd see him again tonight.

Ariel wasn't certain what drew her out here to the beach, night after night. Her father would say she was being rebellious. Her sisters and her mother would say she was falling in love.

She'd disagree with both, but she had to admit she was intrigued by the Phantom. But then again, how would it be possible to not be?

* * *

Ah, there she was.

He was flattered to know that the girl waiting to hear him every night. Once, he'd hung out far enough in the waves where she couldn't see him, though he could see her. He hadn't made a noise that night, save for his breathing.

She'd still remained on the beach all night, only leaving once the first hint of dawn crept into the sky.

Well, he certainly wouldn't remain silent tonight. He'd sing his soul out for her.

* * *

Ursula was never one to turn down a chance to barter for a soul, and now she saw an excellent opportunity to make a wager. This lovesick princess- and she _was_, even if she wouldn't admit it- was the perfect fool to deal with.

The sea witch called up a great storm, with rolling thunder and huge streaks of lightning. She called up the tide early, ensuring the princess would be swept away by the current and be rescued by the mysterious Phantom of the Seven Seas.

She would come to Ursula and bargain to stay beneath the sea with the Phantom.

And she would fail and belong to Ursula, like all the rest.

* * *

Ariel awoke in a place stranger than any she'd ever seen. She was in a dark cavern, though- she leaned over the edge of the boulder she was perched on- it was lit a little by phosphorescent fish.

How had she gotten here? More importantly, where was she?  
Switching positions, Ariel sat on the edge of the boulder and dangled her legs in the water. It was warmer than she'd expected.

"H-hello?" she called tentatively.

From the water behind her came a soft male voice. "Yes?"

Even though she'd been hoping for a response, Ariel screamed.

* * *

Erik (for that was the given name of the Phantom) winced when the human girl screamed. Scaring her was the last thing he'd wanted to do. But he'd rather get her initial shock- and likely repulsion- over with quickly.

"I didn't kidnap you," he informed her, hanging out of her view. "You fell asleep just before the tide came in. I was afraid when you didn't wake up, so I brought you here."

"Where _is_ here?" Ariel asked. Then she realized that perhaps she should be asking a different question. "Who are you?"

"Have you already forgotten me after only a few hours?" He waited silently for her response. Perhaps she wasn't there so much for him as he had thought.

Perfectly blue eyes widened. She'd been brought to the Phantom's lair by the Phantom himself? Ariel unconsciously groaned. The merman she'd been obsessed with for years had likely held her, been _that close _to her, and she hadn't had the decency to be roused from sleep so she could see him?

She twisted on the rock, but her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light. "The Phantom of the Seven Seas?"

"Is that all I'm known for?" Erik kept his head down, circling behind her each time she shifted.

"It's all I've ever known you as," said Ariel, now feeling foolish. She turned around again. This time, she was fast enough to catch a glimpse of him. "There you are!" she exclaimed.

Guiltily, he stopped moving. He wanted to duck back under the water because it was so strange to be talking to her. In person. Not just watching her from half a mile away.

"Why were you hiding?" Ariel asked him, just as a different voice called out to the Phantom.

"Erik?" came a booming male voice. Ariel's eyes widened. Was that Triton? She was only a dozen yards from the King of the Sea, then! It continued, "You're late. We're expecting you at the palace."

So his name was Erik? Questioningly, she looked at him, intending to ask what was happening, but he shook his head and put a finger to his lips.

Huffing, Ariel sat back on the boulder. The Phantom was just going to abandon her here in his dark cave while he went off? She wasn't having that. She tried to slide off the rock but Erik put his hands on her legs, holding her in place.

"Stay here," he ordered, then ducked under the water and swam away.

* * *

Erik was supremely upset that the sea king had chosen now- now, of all times- to call him to court. Any other day, it would have been a welcome break in the monotony of waiting until night. But _today_...

Today, Ariel was in his home, and he'd left her there unprotected. He couldn't stop thinking about that, or about her.

That would be his luck. This could not be happening right now.

"Yes, Triton?" Erik asked arrogantly. He was perhaps the one merman who could call the king by his name and live. He didn't kneel to Triton, either, but that was because of the protection Erik offered from Ursula, and the ruler knew it.

Weighing his words carefully so as to not offend the Phantom, Triton replied, "Erik, rumors have rapidly been spreading under the sea today."

"Have they? Erik asked, affecting indifference. As he immediately determined the worst- someone had seen him taking Ariel- a human- to his lair.

"Ye-es," the king said, dragging the word to two syllables. "One of my daughters said she spotted you kidnap a human."

A serious charge. Erik couldn't admit that he had been going to the surface to see a human for a year. Well over a year. "That is not the case."

Narrowing his gaze, the king said, "I hope you're certain, Erik. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt." He leaned forward on his throne and said very clearly, "Don't mess up."

Erik had no intention of doing anything to jeopardize his precarious situation.

* * *

"Ariel? _Ariel. _Where _are_ you?" Ariel's mother, Cassandra, was getting concerned. It was near noon, and her daughter was still nowhere to be found. Cassandra had seen Ariel out on the beach the previous night before she'd gone to bed. She'd fully expected her daughter to come back inside and be awake by eleven o'clock. That had not been the case today.

Cassandra strode into her daughter's room and stopped short at the sight that greeted her. Ariel's bed was vacant, unslept in. She hadn't come home last night.

Frantically, the queen ran out of Ariel's room and down the hall to find her husband. A search party needed to be organized. She had to be found!

* * *

"Has anyone come in here?" Erik demanded of Ariel when he returned to his cave.

She was taken aback by this sudden business-like manner. "No. Should someone have?" It was genuine question. Her voice was full of anxiety; she found the cavern terrifying. The water all around her was dark, leaving her unable to see if she could stand, should she fall in. The only light came from the sun peeking through the small gap between the roof and the water's surface. It smelled nasty, like decay.

Erik shook his head. "No." He felt tangible relief that no one had found Ariel. Triton would only allow him to keep her as long as she remained unseen.

Though she was thrilled that she was there, a part of her was preoccupied by the affairs that must be taking place on the surface. "Have you come to take me home?"

It wasn't that she wanted to go home; she was just concerned about how her parents were taking her disappearance. It was likely it would make it to the status of an international crisis.

Another 'no' from the Phantom's lips.

"Why?"

Ah, here was his opportunity to persuade her to stay! He answered her question indirectly. "Seeing as I don't believe you've fully recovered from your ordeal, you should remain here for a while." Telling her of his intentions outright would _not_ be beneficial.

Stay? She agreed, but on one condition. "Tell my parents not to worry, then. I'm sure they're looking for me."

Erik smirked before realizing it was not the appropriate expression. "Done."

The reason for his easy acceptance was that he would not need to seek out the land king and queen himself. He had a friend- well, he _said_ friend- who was a servant in Ariel's palace. He really more of employed her to spy on the happenings on land. He'd go to Meg later on.

"I wish I could breathe underwater," Ariel said at length. "I would love to see your world."

He inclined his head. "As I would love to show you. But you have no way of breathing, and the sight of your tailless lower half"- his eyes drifted over her legs- "would almost certainly start a riot."

Worried, she looked down at her legs, too. "Are they really that bad?"

It made him laugh, her innocence. "No, but you're human, and humans aren't allowed here."

Suddenly anxious, she questioned, "Is there a punishment?"

Erik's expression was gravely serious. "Death."

* * *

**Please review if you enjoyed this!**


	2. Part of Your World

**Sorry it's been such a VERY LONG TIME since I posted the first chapter. I had this chapter written, but I just got lazy.**

* * *

He was gone again when she woke up. She remembered him singing her to sleep again the previous evening.

Abruptly, her stomach growled and she looked down. She should have asked Erik to bring her some food when he returned. If she had to eat seafood for the duration of her stay... It wasn't that she hated fish, it just didn't agree with her digestive system. Vomiting in the ocean wasn't ideal, not to mention impolite.

If she was a mermaid, the thought slowly occurred to her, she wouldn't be having this conundrum.

"I wish I was like him," she said wistfully, gazing down from her perch atop the boulder at the phosphorescent fish below.

She began to think aloud- Ariel always thought better when she talked to herself. Was it worth it, giving up her life on land?

"What would I give to live where you are? What would I pay to stay here beside you?" She stretched out one leg to dip a toe into the water. It was warm. "What would I do to see you smiling at me?" Ariel shook her head; she was being foolish. How would this ever come about? She admitted it out loud to herself. "I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now. Watch and you'll see," she instructed the empty cave, suddenly determined, "someday I'll be part of your world."

The words she'd said bounced back at her, echoing around the empty space. She had a strange sensation that what she'd just declared was about to come true.

* * *

Deep in her own secluded cave, Ursula started to cackle. So the human princess wanted to be one of them, did she? Well, she certainly knew a way to make that fantasy a reality.

She quickly made the necessary arrangements; she'd have to hurry if she wanted to get to the human before her archenemy, the Phantom, returned.

"Erik?" came a sugary-sweet voice from just outside the cave. Ariel craned her neck to see who the owner was. She was stunned to see the voice's owner had not the usual fishtail, but eight octopus tentacles.

Ariel moved to the back of the boulder where the octopus person wouldn't be able to see her. She _couldn't _be seen.

But she couldn't help creeping forward a bit when the sea inhabitant called her name.

"Ariel? Ariel, it's all right; I'm a friend of Erik's. I know you're here. You can come out."

The human princess peeked out from behind the rock. "Who are you?"

Ignoring her rudeness, the octo-person responded, "I am Ursula, the sea-witch."

Ariel's ears perked up. She crawled back atop the boulder. "Sea-witch?" What did that mean, exactly?

Ursula laughed quietly. This was going exactly the way she wanted it. The girl's curiosity would be her undoing. "Of course there is magic under the sea. I can make nearly anything happen." This wasn't her ego talking, for once; she truly was talented.

Feeling the beginning of an idea poking around her brain, Ariel asked, "Then you could turn me into a mermaid?"

"Certainly, dear child." Ursula paused. "It's what I do. It's what I _live_ for – to help those poor, unfortunate people like yourself. Those with no one else to turn to." She shrugged, saying, "I'll admit that in the past I've been nasty. They're not kidding when they call me, well, a witch. But you'll find that nowadays, I've mended all my ways, repented, seen the light and made a switch – to this. And I fortunately know a little magic; it's a talent that I always have possessed. And dear lady, please don't laugh: I use it on behalf of the miserable, the lonely and depressed. Pathetic," she mumbled in an aside. "Poor unfortunate souls. In pain, in need. This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl and do I help them?" Ursula laughed a little. "Yes indeed. Poor unfortunate souls, so sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron, crying 'Spells, Ursula, please,' and I help them! Yes, I do."

The sea-witch shook her head sadly. "Now, it's happened once or twice: someone couldn't pay the price, and I'm afraid I had to rake them 'cross the coals. Yes, I've had the odd complaint, but on the whole, I've been a saint to those poor unfortunate souls." Ursula extended her hand. "Have we got a deal?"

Ariel bit her lip as she thought through the witch's offer. "If I become a mermaid, I'll never see my parents again."

"But you'll have your man." Ursula dangled the bait before the princess. "Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?" She laughed, sounding almost sinister for the first time since she'd arrive, then stopped when something dawned on her. "Oh! And there is one more thing: we haven't discussed the matter of payment."

Ariel was crestfallen. She had no idea what the sea people used as currency, and even if she did, how would she possibly obtain some? "I don't have any-"

"I'm not asking much," Ursula interrupted, "just a token, really, a trifle. What I want is... Erik's mask."

His mask? Erik would never relinquish that, the princess thought ruefully. She would never be able to persuade him to give it up. "That won't work. He'll never give it to me," she informed the sea-witch.

"Nonsense." Ursula waved off her concern. "I have faith in you. I'll give you three days as one of us, but if you want to stay a mermaid, you _must _bring me the mask. Come on, you poor unfortunate soul! Go ahead; make your choice! I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day. Poor unfortunate souls. It's sad, but true." The sea-witch watched with glee as the human sitting above her tried to make up her mind. She started in on her no-so-subtle convincing. "If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you've got to pay the toll. Take a gulp and take a breath and _go ahead and sign the scroll!_" Looking heavenward, Ursula muttered, "Thank you, Neptune, I got her boys. The boss is on a roll. You poor, unfortunate soul!" she finished loudly as Ariel reached for the golden scroll that had magically appeared in front of her and signed it.

It disappeared as soon as she wrote the last letter of her name; Ursula began an incantation. Ariel felt her legs being inexplicably drawn together and fusing. She didn't dare to look down, afraid the sight would make her sick. Covering her eyes with her hands, she refused to watch.

However grudgingly, Ursula had to admit the human was becoming one of the most beautiful mermaids she'd ever seen. Her legs – horrid, scrawny things that they were – were being coated with shimmering green scales that reminded the sea-witch of the shallow waters she so rarely got to see. The fin on the end of her tail was wide and strong, but delicate in appearance. Ursula snorted. The girl was still wearing her human clothes.

Ariel gasped, unable to inhale the air with her new gills. Instinctively, she dove headfirst into the water. She didn't even consider the water might not be deep enough for her to do so. All she knew was that she needed to breathe.

She took in a shuddering gulp of water and raised a hand to her neck to feel the liquid go out her gills as her lungs filled with air.

Ursula was waiting impatiently nearby. When the girl finally overcame her wonder, she reminded Ariel, "You have three days to bring me Erik's mask. After that, you'll have overstayed your welcome in the sea, and you will return to a human state."

"Only three?" Ariel tentatively flicked her tail, propelling herself forward. "That seems awfully-"

"If this is really what you want," the sea-witch interrupted, "you'll manage." Before Ariel could say anything, she unleashed a could of black ink. When it finally cleared, Ursula had vanished.

Unable to wait for Erik to return, Ariel – since she was able to now – decided she wanted to explore the merpeople's city.

* * *

**I'd love it if you reviewed! And, to help me get the next chapter out sooner... please leave an idea of what song (from either The Phantom of the Opera or The Little Mermaid) you'd like to see in the next chapter. This might help me put together an idea of where I'm going with this.**


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